Frat House Rewind- week 4

Guest post by Jeremiah, aka The Freak

Iron Sharpens Iron

As men, we a prone to falling on our own sword strictly because of pride. It is this pride that also sends us into defensive mode when we are confronted with things or events for which we know we have sinned. But as Christ followers, we must be open to constructive feedback and correction from those we know and trust. As we study Galatians 6:1-3, we need to know that confronting, or being confronted by, a fellow [man] follower of Christ is the only way to truly set paths straight on their way to God.

But, there can be any number of reasons why we hold back from talking to someone about their misgivings or shortfalls.

Why is it so hard to call someone out and why do we hold back?

One thing we must avoid when we are confronted by a fellow believer is the act of comparison. I have fallen victim to this many times. Someone points out a flaw in my life or attitude and I will immediately go into defense mode and point out how I am better than this or that person. It justifies us in our own minds and tries to shift the focus from the bad to the good. Galatians 6:4-5 says it the best: we must pay attention to our own behavior without comparing.

It’s difficult to avoid, but where do we tend to compare ourselves favorably to other?

Proverbs 27:17 gives us the best analogy for testing our mettle as men and as believers. We must focus on helping one another straighten out our crooked paths and sharpen one another’s skills as Truth spreaders.

We must continue beyond just Frat House to engage one another. When we do engage, we must be straightforward, yet humble. We must point out the weakness, but help strengthen our fellow man. We all struggle and fail. It’s the bumpers around us that help us stay up or, lack there of, that let us fall.

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Week #2- Frat House Rewind

Here’s your 2x4, now hit yourself!

We woke up with coffee and a 2x4 this morning. The biggest struggle that we face as men, is women. No, not the battle of the sexes type struggle, but of our lust for those who a) are not our wife, or b) we are not married to. We saw it with King David. Look in Acts 13:22 and you will see how favored he was in God’s eyes. But then look in 2 Samuel 11:1 and see how David put himself in the wrong place on purpose, contributing to his own moral decline. Now, ask yourself this question:

What places do we need to watch out for?

As we keep reading in 2 Samuel 11, we see that David’s eyes began to wander. Sound familiar? Affairs don’t happen overnight, yet they hit like a linebacker coming around the O-line and we are the QB. Great, blindsided. Our guard was down. It starts when we let our eyes wander.

What areas do we need to lock out visually so we won’t go there? How can we do it?

The road to victory lies in the relationships we have with other Christian men. James 5:16 gives it to us no uncertain terms. We must be accountable to those other men.

Are we struggling with the wrong place or uncontrolled eyes?

We must be honest with ourselves before we can be honest with others. Take the weight of, find that other man, and “confess your sins to each other.” Check out this blog from Perry Noble: it’s not just for pastors.

Guest Blogger: Jeremiah McBride
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Week #1: We are Armor Bearers

Each week our guest blogger, Jeremiah aka The Freak will provide us a summary...

This week we focused on the battles that we face as men, whether it be the struggles we may have in our jobs, working to make a difference for Christ there, or whether we are at home alone, surfing the Internet on the wrong sites. Look in 1 Samuel 14:6-7 and imagine how we can be armor bearers.

As men, we also tend to escape our problems through other means: brain draining with the TV, shutting down emotionally, or just plain anger and aggression. Ask yourself this question: Under pressure-if you don’t engage and fight for what is right…..What do you typically do?

As we all know, Frat House is a safe place to enter into a deep discussion with other men so that we can work to be those armor bearers for them, and vice versa for us (and what is said at Frat House stays at Frat House). Who needs you to help them fight or encourage them to go for it? Read James 5:16 and you will see why Frat House is so vital to us as men.

Lastly, find an armor bearer, trust that they are there for you, and then begin to open up. But what about? If you just ask these 2 questions, you will begin taking your first steps towards letting that armor bearer, or bearers, stand behind you:

• What battle are you in or need to fight?
• How can we, the armor bearers, pray for you?

Until next week...

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